Post 8:

Chronicles of a Guy With a Lot of Piercings


I am definatly able to alter a puclic place. It might be the piercings, or it might be the my non-traditional clothing, but I have the amazing ability to intimidate people on will. All I have to do is flash a face that reveils even the the smallest trace o anger, and meek people will practically bolt in fear.
For instance, two days ago, I had a bad morning and therefore was in a horrible mood when I approached the stir-fry bar in Erickson. The young man working the portion part of the bar started to say hi as he turned around to face me, but stopped as soon as he looked into my eyes. It took me roughly four minutes to communicate to the man what I wanted in my dish, as I had to ford throught the veritable river or stuttering and eye contact aversion that was pouring forth from him.
The fact that I am able to pull of stunts like that is ludicrous. I would understand someone being afraid of me back when I weighed 210 pounds of solid muscle and had a neck as thick as a tree trunk, but I'm practically a stick right now. I weigh roughly 170 pounds, haven't gone to the gym in at least a year, and am as violent as a kitten. The piercings, if anything, should prompt people to think they have a better chance in a fight against me. I know if I ever get in legitament tussle with a pierced fellw, the first action I'm going to look to take will be to rip out his rings.
I take similar measures as Staples to break out of my pre-ordained niche. I speak up often in class and in all discussions to show the participating people that I am not just some mindless thug. Also, I like to think that I've developed an extra warm smile in a response to everyone having a base negative opinion of me. The smile often counteracts people I meet's first impression of me, thus allowing me to conduct civil conversation and even make a few friends.
So if I ever piss one of you off to the point of fisticuffs, opt to fight; you'll probably kick my ass.

Post 7

1. Graphic Story 2. Movie 3. Photo Essay 4. Wiki 5. Webpage


1. Punk Music 2. Socialism 3. DIY 4. Why Miami Fails 5. My hometown

1. What academic requirements does the project have? For instance, how many sources do you need.

2. How do you guage the content of one media against another?

Post 6:

Foucault is a nutjob, plain and simple. In his essay he tries to equate totalitarian regulation with ultimate clarity, which frankly I find disturbing. Panopticism is not totalitarianism. Let me say that one more time. Panopticism is not totalitarianism. It may provide a clear cross-section of governing mechanics, but if one who guages clarity by efficiency has unlimited potential to do evil if ever given power. The system may grant omniscence to one person, but that hardly justifies labeling the condition of the community at large as Panopticism. At least that's what I think. I'll play by the rules though. Here's two examples:

I hate to use the Patriot Act in two back-to-back blog posts, but I don't see any way around it. President Bush enacting the Patriot Act after the 9/11 is a direct parellel to the panopticism of old. Both are forms of martial law assumed in times of great crisis that infringe on the average citizen's civil liberties, involve a long chain of command, and involve tight regulation of mobility. 

Bush's failed attempt to implant RFID chips in everyones' passports qualifies as panopticism. The RFID chips would contain all of the holder's personal data, and would be trackable from space. RFID chips would wirelessly transmit personal data to basically whatever the government attuned to them. The government would be able to log where you were at all times, what you've done, what you've bought, ect. Scary. Luckily Congress squashed that one.

  

Post 5:

1. Salmone and Salmone effectively present Disney World as a "sanitized" reality in their essay, "Images of Main Street: Disney World and the American Adventure." They describe how the architects and planners who desgined Main Street took special care to carve each Main Street into the platonic version of the chronological period that the particular street is supposed to correspond to. For instance, "the American Colonial section . . . provides neat and clean shops, always fully stocked and in air-conditioned comfort." (170) Even the street cleaners put on a show while they work, dancing and prancing, distracting the attendees from the harsh realities and nature of the job they are doing. Thus, the Main Streets are meant to serve as a representation of the principles and idealogies of specific time periods sifted through a lense of innocence.

2. One example of reality being sanitized is Fox "news coverage." Fox does not filter reality in the same sense that Disney does, but edits its news coverage to promote a reality beneficial to its parent media conglomeration News Corporation.  

Post 4

A Rhetorical Analysis of Jello Biafra's 2008 Address at Open the Debate:

       In a monetized political scene dominated by politicians that represent that represent only a sliver of the ideas shared by the American people, input from anybody that represents a third party comes as a refreshing gust of air. Jello Biafra, punk superstar turned activist, rejuvinated my faith in the United States' electorial system two and a half weeks ago when he gave a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention "Let Nader Debate" rally held in Demver's Magness Arena. He preached to the audience passionately about the barriers the electoral system places to stifle diversity of though, and urged the crowd not to settle for the less of two evils; Barack Obama. The speech did not recieve much converage, and was not expected to, but nonetheless Biafra employed a slew of rhetorical devices to great effect.

    Biafra invokes heaps of ethos and pathos with his opening statement, "Looking around the past few days, once again it really brings home to me how rabidly anti-Democratic the Democratic party really is." The colloquial diction Biafra uses draws him closer to his audience, which consists mostly of people who disagree the rigid and linear nature of the current U.S. political machine. Also, Biafra establishes his credibility among the audience with his clever use of the phrase "once again." The two words imply that Biafra has experience in the field of social criticism, and that current problem he is facing is just one of many he has helped conquer. The sentence also invokes pathos for Biafra's cause through the irony it brings to light by juxtaposing the word "democratic" with a corruption of the word that takes the form of the Democratic Party. Biafra eases himself into the listeners' minds with his attempt at humor, making his audience much more succeptable to whatever he has to say next.

   The primary rhetorical device Biafra uses throughout the body of his speech is the juxtaposition of political facts with humor. By telling the audience a fact, setting a historical precident, then cracking a joke at that fact's expense, Biafra makes the morsel of information seem absolutely ludicrous. His speech consists almost entirely of the repeated use of this technique, with the security at the Democratic National Convention, right wing politics, and left wing appeasement at the tip of his spear.

   Biafra also dips heavily into his pool of literary trophe in his speech. Being one of the most celebrated lyrisists of his time, Biafra revels in the power of diction. He uses turns of phrase such as "Bill Clintoned" and "freedom fried" in order to give the listener something to grasp onto even after they have left the stadium. By translating his opinions into catchphrases like "dealmakers not leaders" and "Don't hate the media, become the media," both produces an emotional appeal for his ideas and adds grease to the wheels that circulate his opinions.

Footage for the address can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNW7L_bsjHQ&feature=related

   

Post 3

1. Out of all of the pieces assigned for homework, I believe that Liu's essay, "Chinatown," serves as the most substantial embodiement of Think Description. Although the other essays barrage the reader with an arguably equal number of details, Liu's piece contains the most physical description, and thus provides the reader with the clearest mental image. Phrases such as "I'd be stuck, always as if for the first time, by how tiny she was: four feet nine and shrinking" (203 WP) breath life into the the little old lady.  One can easily imagine and sympathize with poor old Po-Po; perfectly shriveled and shrunked, submersing herself in the very environment she sought to escape. 

   Kincaid provides an impressive quantity of both venom and anecdotes, Staelehi effectively bores the reader out of his or her skull with the pure volume of wisdom he wishes to impart, and Gladwell gleans detailed insight into an invisible yet essential occupation, but none of the articles conjured up comprehensive images of any specific place in  general. The reader is almost asphyxiated by Kincaid's hatred, made palpable by such passages as "My nose was pressed against a glass window alright, but there was an iron vise at the back of my neck forcing my head to stay into place," (104 WP) but one can only speculate to what the window looks like, or even for what Kincaid herself looks like for that matter. The other two essays similarly bring forth interest qualitites, but fail to give them substantial tangible qualitites through description.

2. "Lane Library: A Living Learning Community" reverses the connotations tied in with the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words." She effectively pencils an elaborate sketch of the interior of Lane Library with words by utilizing an excellent command of Thick Description. Her paper fails to consider the community outside of the library however, which sets it back a tad in my book at least.

Post Two

1. Lamott shot an arrow straight through the meaty part of my heart with her opening train of thought that concerns the wallowing hopelessness that accompanies writers faced with the prospect of a blank page. I battle similar fiends whenever I start writing. My self doubt and self loathing usually take the form of a pair twitching, bulging arms that reach out of my monitor and proceed to throttle me. From a third person perspective, I'll imagine, almost wistfully, the greased up conglomeration of sinew and ownage doing horrible, unforgivable things to my person. When my form.  . . . . ceases to move I guess would be the right term, (Poor metaphysical me is always back for another round the next time duty calls) the limbs flex provacatively at whatever lense I'm watching this sad, sorry substitute for therapy through and disappear back from wence they came. Most say I need help; I just respond that there's nothing wrong with a little tough love.

-Max